This is the part I call: Controlled Chaos
With the first 6 weeks of general orientation under my belt, I headed off to FACT training.
What is FACT training you ask? It stands for Foreign Affairs Counter Threat and is a security training program for all personnel heading overseas. (I included this in a previous post but will link here again: Check out this link to see what it entails. ).
It’s essentially a 5 days course that taught us how to evade adversaries in a car (car ramming, spinning out and driving in reverse involved!), provide emergency trauma medical care, and how to handle other possible security scenarios such as: kidnappings, robbery, possible bombing or active shooter. Now this sounds frightening (and there were parts that absolutely were), but it was such useful information and I’m super grateful that the DOS offers this training not just to employee’s but to family member’s also. My partner was stoked to take part in this and it really helped him to feel part of the process. I don’t know what this say’s about me, but ramming directly into a car was oddly satisfying and perhaps the highlight of my week…. Also, now I finally know how to change a tire.
We came back from FACT training absolutely exhausted, but there is no rest for the weary! We are only one month out from our departure and still need to apply for diplomatic passports and visa’s for Burundi. Our to do list also includes setting up a pack out date for our belongings. Hopefully packing gets easier with time, but in the 6 weeks we have been in DC we’ve somehow managed to accumulate quite a bit more stuff (mostly car toys and dinosaurs thanks to a certain someone…). This time around our move will include an extra shipment called “consumables”. This is an extra 2,500 pounds of non perishable foods, medicine, hygiene/cleaning products that DOS will ship to post for us. So we have a massive Costco trip in our future. Not to mention medical appointments for vaccines, malaria prophylaxis, and I’m trying to get the entire family a dental cleaning before we head out. Are you feeling my panic…
I’m confident all will come together, but when you are in the midst of it with a looming deadline you can’t help but wonder, will we make it??!!
What’s next?
This week we are remote, with online classes and modules to complete and then MED training begins 8/29!
I’ve been receiving an influx of emails from the embassy in Burundi and it’s been super encouraging to see how everyone is so welcoming. This is a relatively small post and it seems like a tight-knit community which I think will be a great learning experience as my first time post. They haven’t had a full time provider for the last year, so I think initially I may have my work cut out for me in setting things up and getting started. With that being said, I’m ready for the challenge and excited to get going! The community liaison officer (CLO) is my main contact at post and she has been incredibly helpful in assisting me with local preschools, housing and car issues. We ultimately decided to not purchase a car, because it may take 6-8 months to arrive so we are hoping to buy one in country.
Somewhere in the midst of this all, we are trying to pick up some basic french.
Burundi nous y voilà!! (that’s all the french I have so far- send help).
While we did FACT training my son spent the week with his Tia- living his best life. Smoothies, fruit loops and long walks. (my sister is the best)
